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_ Tir _

_ One Year Earlier _

In the village of Fenrir, where my grandfather- the wolf himself- reigned, my day of maturity was coming. And that meant my execution was fast approaching as well.

"Grandfather! I'm not weak! I can- I can help hunt!" My pleas fell on silent ears. The fire in his eyes, in his maw, and in every crease of fur raged. "How did I sire the father of this weakling?" he roared. "You can't even speak properly! You can't hunt lest you warn the prey. You can't raid because you refuse to steal. But we SURVIVE by stealing! We eat by killing! Now FACE ME, BOY!"

I flinched, turning to face my grandfather fully.

"Do you know who freed me, boy?" he spat the last word. I knew why he wouldn't even call me by name. I wasn't worthy.

"N-No, I don't."

"SPEAK CLEARLY TO ME," he raged. The flames roared with him.

"No, I do not, sir!" I yelped.

"It was your uncle Fasnor. He dared approach me, and he reaped the rewards. Do you know where he is now, sonspawn? Wrapped in Gleipnir in my place. He gave his freedom to let you live. Would you squander that so easily?" There was a dangerous glitter in his eye. This wasn't good, I had to get out.

"N-no, sir! I will be stronger!"

"Good, because tomorrow, if you aren't strong enough, I might just kill you myself. Cower, little cub. Hide away if you don't want to be eaten, because you aren't strong enough to fight."

Nonononono, I saw his massive paw veined with fire crushing my head and I scrambled put of there, nono, I wanna live I wanna live don't hurt me I wanna live grandfather I'll be strong, I'll kill, I I I I wanna live I j-just wanna please grandfather I saw his teeth rip out my throat and I screamed and screamed and I ran, as fast as I could and I didn't stop and I wouldn't stop, nonono don't kill me-

I ran and I didn't stop running. I ran through the streets and didn't stop. I ran past my house and didn't stop. I ran into the woods and didn't stop. And I don't think I ever will stop, in a way. My grandfather haunts me even now. And he will hunt me until the day I die.

***

Soon enough, I came upon an encampment of Evolveds. I only recognized a few kinds- a wolf, like me, a squirrel, like Ratatosk, my grandfather's partner from Ragnorok- but the others were a mystery to me.

"H-hello? I-I'm lost an--" I started.

One jumped at me, the wolf's jaws at my throat. There was metal on her teeth and her paws also had metal claws. "D-don't kill me!" I yelped.

"I recognize those eyes- you're spawn of Fenrir, aren't you? Only Fenrir-spawn have that inferno in their eyes, like they were still in Ragnorok. But you also have a scent of law... Frosty, what do we do with him? " I recognized the weapons now. The metal teeth were called Mauls. The claws were called Grets, after the inventor. Her breath was on my throat, her eyes glittering a cold blue. I could feel my blood freezing.

"Clear out everyone! Leave this to us," what looked like a smaller version of Freyja's tabby cats. But then, there are buildings smaller than Freyja's tabby cats. "I dunno Hiroko, Fenrir killed my family, but this one seems harmless enough. And he can't see us, so it'd just be senseless killing."

"Come on, Frosty, get over it," a squirrel said. "You didn't kill me for havin' ole Smooth Tongue as my daddy. Just 'cause our family's bad don't mean we are."

"Smooth Tongue?" I asked quietly. No one answered me, of course.

"Barker, why are you still here?" 'Frosty' interrupted.

"Ratatosk is different, though. HE didn't kill the gods. I vote we kill Fenrir's spawn as revenge for what he did to the Norse Alliance," Hiroko the wolf said, ignoring Frosty. Her armored teeth were inches from my throat.

"N-n-n-no!" I yelled. "N-n-n-no, I hate my grandfather! H-he hates me back, I'm weak!"

"Terrible stutter you've got, Fenrir-spawn. We could cure it... permanently." Hiroko brought her claw to my throat and I couldn't help but follow it with my eyes as she lightly traces my windpipe. Her teeth were bared in a grin inches from my face.

"Cool it, Hiroko, we're keeping him," the squirrel, Barker, said.

"Who died and made you Alpha?" she grumbled, but she got off of me. I stayed on the ground because she was terrifying. "It's Frosty's decision."

"Hiroko. He's running from Fenrir. Aren't you?" Frosty asked me.

I nodded numbly. "Y-yes, It's my nameday tomorrow a-and he eats the weak on their eighteenth nameday."

"Gods damn him," said Frosty. "You don't just... eat people! You eat animals!"

"We ARE animals, Frosty," the squirrel said. "Tiger, squirrel, and wolf. See? Animals." He pointed to each Evolved in turn.

"But we are NOT animals! We've evolved! We're people! We're just--"

"Furred, yeah. You've told us a thousand times. By think about this. We're intelligent, but so are sphinxes. We're capable of building things, but so are saytrs. We're humanoid, but so are some yo-kai. In anywhere but the Norse Alliance, we'd be considered monsters because we aren't human and we aren't spirits. And in the Norse Alliance, we wouldn't ever fit in because of Fenrir. Frosty, we aren't destined to live in the nations. We're evolved from animals to monsters," Barker continued passionately.

"We've got to make them see that destruction isn't all we're good for. There are some Evolveds in Nile, right? And they don't destroy gods!"

"Yeah but that's Nile. And you know what happened in Nile? Ra was eaten by Apophis. One of the Great Beasts, like Fenrir. An Evolved. They trust us there only because it's been a more than a hundred years and it was one god. And then they barely tolerate us. Nile is the most forgiving nation and they barely give us rights. So what now, Frosty, are we people or monsters?"

"We're people! How could you say that?"

"Because I know what humans think of us. We'll never live among them. We might as well be among Osiris' court," the squirrel finished dramatically.

"C-can I say something? M-my grandfather says that the farther blood goes, the more diluted the blood is. He's evolved but we're almost a-animals," I say timidly.

"That's Fenrir, right? Of course he believes that. I bet he believes in Evolved Supremacy, right? He's the animal, in my opinion."

"He is pretty nasty..."

"Newbie, I've made up my mind. Join us here in Animus," Frosty said, holding his arm out to me and grinning.

"Frosty, what if he's a spy?" Hiroko pointed out.

"I-I'm not! Don't hurt me!" I squeak. Hiroko snorts.

"If he is then he is. Newbie, what's your name?"

"I-I'm Tir, son of Drengurd, s-son of Fenrir." I grasp his paw and he pulls me up.

"Welcome aboard, Tir. Welcome to Animus, village of freedom. Let's introduce you to the troops, shall we?" Frosty said, already walking.